The Last Vial
by paperthrower
Summary: [possible spoilers] Harry, Ron, and Hermione stumble upon a mysterious secret about Tom Riddle’s past that only Dumbledore, and a few other people that are now dead, knows. Riddle does not even know this surprising secret! Come one, come all, if you are e


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**Hiya everyone! This is truly the very first fanfic that I've EVER written. Seriously. I bet you'll be able to tell anyway. I don't want to bash it before you read it, but this was a spur of the moment idea, following the reading of book six in the series. (So basically what I'm saying is, "Sorry if it's stupid and lame.") If things seem askew, or some information is kind of wacky, I don't mind you telling me. Actually, please do! (same for all my works from now on too, if you come across them.) Please tell me what you think (and whether I should give up writing or if I should write more), because your opinion deserves to be known if you managed to read this entire thing. I tried not to make it too unbelievable, really, I did. (even if it doesn't seem likely AT ALL this would, or did, happen. But hey, this is fanfic after all!) And I'm not trying to ruin the story either. I just wanted to write something that would answer some questions that I had for myself. So, enjoy! (PS: I'm sorry if the plot becomes Star Wars-esque which if you think about it, anything with a Dark Lord IS Star Wars-esque, not that I'm comparing Ms. Rowling's work with that of a six episode movie trilogy by Mr. Lucas. My deepest apologies.)(PSS: I tried to keep this, and the story as short as possible. Thanks for reading! ) Harry Potter and Lucas Films are © J.K. Rowling and ©George Lucas just making sure I don't get sued or something. Okay, I'll shut up now so you can read. Promise.**

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The despondency that settled over this new world without possibly one of the greatest wizards of the era was tremendously heart wrenching. Lacking his long time mentor Albus Dumbledore, Harry felt a dark void in his heart, which was only previously occupied by the painful memories of his deceased parents, godfather, and any other victim of Lord Voldemort's wrath that he knew personally. He felt that Dumbledore had left him too soon, and that there was so much that he, Harry, didn't know. Dumbledore had left Harry with something vitally important to defeat Lord Voldemort: courage. Harry had an unwavering courageous spirit to carry on and attempt to defeat the evil wizard that had killed many whom he loved.

Harry was not completely alone; he still had his two dearest friends, Ron and Hermione, to stand by his side through whatever may happen. Hermione was not altogether convinced that Dumbledore left Harry enough information about Voldemort's weaknesses. "If you ask me," Hermione said for the umpteenth time, "you have rather vague information about the Horcruxes. There just has to be more! They could be anywhere, and anything!" "We know, we know, but what can we do now?" asked Harry. "I say we sneak into Dumbledore's old office, there has to be _something_ there. There just has to be!" replied Hermione. "And we need to do it before they close the school, before we leave forever…" continued Hermione, with and added tone of solemnity and urgency. Harry could sense sadness and put an arm around and said, "Don't worry Hermione, we'll check out Dumbledore's old office." With that it was decided: they would put on the invisible cloak and sneak their way back into the castle to Dumbledore's office.

Getting into the castle was fairly easy, for most everybody was still outside, lamenting their sorrows and realizing their fears. "I hope the password hasn't changed," said Harry as he came to that same gargoyle that he had visited so frequently through his sixth year at Hogwarts. "Toffee éclairs", Harry said at the gargoyle. Luckily, it hadn't changed and the staircase opened up.

The three hurried into Dumbledore's old office, everything untouched and the same as before. It looked as if Professor McGonagall hadn't touched or removed anything that was lying around before Dumbledore's untimely death. Trying to find out more about Lord Voldemort's past, Harry, Ron, and Hermione rummaged through the office in hopes that something would turn up. Harry had his doubts; he swore that Dumbledore had shown him everything significant to finding out what precisely Voldemort's weakness was. But the information he gathered from Dumbledore was lacking, and it seemed that a whole chunk of Tom Riddle's younger years was missing. Even if they found anything, Harry believed that it probably wouldn't be able to help them significantly.

It was Hermione who found an unmarked vial. "Harry, Ron, come quick!" she said excitedly. "What is it?" Ron asked. Harry, whom had seen these memory vials many a time was about to answer, when, as usual, Hermione piped in, "It looks like a memory vial! Harry, didn't Dumbledore show you all of these?" "I thought so, but this is one he didn't show me," Harry answered truthfully.

"Perhaps there was a reason why? Maybe he was hiding something from you," Ron said. "Or maybe it just a random memory that has nothing to do with He-who-must-not-be-named," countered Hermione. Seeing the uneasiness on both of his friend's faces, Harry said, "There's only one way to find out." Harry took the vial, uncorked it, and spewed it over the Pensieve that was still resting on Dumbledore's old desk. "Ready?" Harry asked.

"Ready for what?" questioned Ron nervously. "We're going in, right Harry?" Hermione said. "Correct," said Harry. "We're doing _what_?" Ron asked, now with a more tensed tone of nervousness. "We're going _in_," said Hermione. "Oh, that's what I thought you said," continued Ron, not at all relieved. "Don't worry Ron, we can't be hurt in there, it's just a memory," said Harry to try and comfort Ron. And with that, all three stood near the Pensieve and went through the darkness mist that would lead them into the unknown memory.

When they entered, they immediately recognized where they were. "The Hall!" Hermione said, "but whose memory is this?" Harry immediately recognized a young Tom Riddle sitting by himself at the Slytherin table, eating lunch. "Him," Harry pointed, "There's Tom Riddle… so this was about Voldemort!" "Wow, he isn't too bad looking as a youngster. I thought he'd be much more…" Ron fumbled for the last word as Hermione cut him off, "…Evil-looking?" "Yeah, I think that was the word I was going for," replied Ron. "Well, he does have and air of evil about him, in a way," Hermione said. "I wonder why Dumbledore didn't bother to show me this memory?" asked Harry. "Well, let's see what happens and find out," Hermione said.

They saw the young Tom Riddle sitting by himself, and seemingly daydreaming for he had a glazed over look on his face. "What do you suppose he's thinking about Harry?" asked Ron, " Maybe about how many people he's planning to kill?" "I don't think so, look where he's staring," Harry said as he pointed in the direction of Tom's gaze. All three of them laid eyes on a beautiful, blonde girl sitting at the Gryffindor table, laughing with two of her classmates. "Couldn't be…" muttered Ron. "No way Harry, I thought he was incapable of love!" exclaimed Hermione. "I don't know, let's just watch," replied Harry, and the trio quieted down.

This girl seemed to contrast with Tom in both appearance and mood. She was blonde and bright, whereas Tom had sinister looking black hair and a depressed aura about him. She was laughing heartily, whereas nobody could ever recall Tom having a genuine smile. She was a Gryffindor; he a Slytherin. But Tom seemed transfixed by this girl, unable to take his eyes off of her. She seemed to notice, for she would glance over in his direction every once and a while, and quickly look away again. Her friend's would giggle, and then they would continue to eat their lunches.

Suddenly the trio was pulled towards the group of girls so they might get a good opportunity to hear what they were saying. "This must be the memory of that girl," said Hermione. Hermione guessed correctly, it was indeed the memory of that blonde, cheerful girl. The brunette girl sitting to the right of the blonde girl started to talk, so Ron and Harry had no time to respond to Hermione's assumption.

"I think he likes you Loraine," the brunette said to the blonde, "he's been staring at you for weeks now!" "Tammy, don't you think I've notice?" laughed Loraine with a distinct accent. The girl sitting to the left of Loraine decided to add some input, "He's the creepiest boy at Hogwarts, trust me you don't want to go with him." "Nicole, you don't know he's the _creepiest_ guy, have you ever even talked to him?" asked Loraine. "Well, look, he doesn't even have any normal friends that he hangs around everyday, and plus just look at him," replied Nicole. "He's rather handsome to me," replied Loraine. "Loraine, you're too much. I mean look beyond his outward appearance, he just looks, looks…" "…Evil," Tammy finished Nicole's sentence. "Evil? Ha, you think he's evil, that's hilarious! Ha ha ha!" and Loraine started to laugh boisterously. Tammy and Nicole just gave each other nervous glances, as did the trio comprised of Ron, Hermione, and Harry.

"Blimey, has this Loraine girl gone utterly mad?" asked Ron. "Ron, she doesn't know that he's going to end up becoming the most powerful, most evil wizard the world had ever known," stated Hermione. "That's right, side with the girl," said Ron. "You don't know if this girl has been placed under some kind of love spell of some sort by the Tom Riddle fellow. We shouldn't judge her quite yet," Hermione said. "I suppose your right Hermione, as usual," conceded Ron. "Look you guys, Tom's getting up," Harry said, and with that, they quieted down so they would be able to see what was going to happen.

The darkly handsome Tom Riddle had mustered up enough courage to stand, but not to actually move. Fortunately lunch was over at the very moment he stood so he didn't look like an idiot. Loraine had told her two friends that she would catch up to them a little later for she had to use the restroom. They had a funny feeling that wasn't the real reason.

Loraine walked by Tom rather lethargically; she was in no hurry to be anywhere because this was her free period anyway. After she completely passed by, Tom casually walked up to her and said, "H-hi!" Loraine turned, her face flushed in red, smiled her beautiful smile, and said, "Hi!" "Hi, uh, I just wanted to thank you for that lovely bottle of pumpkin cider. It was delicious; I drank every drop of it… But why did you give it to me?"

"The same reason why you gave me those chocolate cauldrons… because we're friends!"

"Sitting next to each other in 5th year potions class constitutes us as friends now?"

"Hey, you gave me a gift too!"

"True… very true."

Ron had a sudden thought and spoke it verbally to Harry and Hermione, "You don't suppose they're both using love potions on each other?" "Why, that would be awful!" replied Hermione. "Why?" asked Harry. "Because if two people use love potions on each other for the purpose of getting the other one to like them…it has quadruple the effect of a normal love potion," Hermione said. "And that means…" said Harry. "It means that they will be powerfully attracted to each other, and bad things can happen when teenagers are powerfully attracted to each other." "Hey, they are still talking, maybe we should listen," said Ron. "Right," said both Harry and Hermione.

"Uh, if you don't mind me asking, but I was rather curious, where are you from?" said Tom Riddle, nervously.

"Oh, my accent gave it away, heh, yeah I'm definitely not from around here. I am originally from across the pond, thousands of miles away in the country of the United States," said Loraine.

"Wow, that's pretty amazing that you made it all the way out here. Your parent's don't mind you making the long trip?"

"My parents, they are a pretty much non factor in my life. My dad died when I was very young, and my mom abandoned me. A friend of my father's took care of me begrudgingly, and was utterly filled with joy the day I shipped off to Hogwarts. I was never welcomed back," and with that, Loraine turned her gaze downward.

Tom, whose gaze was already downward from the beginning of the conversation, said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, you know, make you relive painful memories. But you and I, we have a lot in common. My mum died when I was born, left me in an orphanage. My father skipped out on me. That's all I know about him."

Harry whispered to his friends, "This must have occurred before Tom found out that his father was a Muggle." "Nice tactic, that Tom, making a girl feel lousy and then make her feel lousy for him as well, very nice," Ron said. "Oh come off it Ron. We all know what scum Tom is! But this seems to be a vital piece in figuring his weaknesses. It's extremely odd why Dumbledore never showed this to you Harry," Hermione said. "Yeah, it is. Maybe there's just something that he didn't want me to know. He once told me that I had something Voldemort would never have: the ability to love. But this memory seems to contradict that. The ability to love was supposed to be my best weapon, now what am I supposed to do?" "This isn't even genuine love, Harry," said Ron, trying to make things seem better. "But if they are both using love potions on each other, they both at least have a crush on each other," countered Harry. "Don't worry Harry, there's more to this memory. Maybe things don't turn out well for Tom and Loraine. We already know they don't stay together forever, because we've never heard of this Loraine girl. Just wait Harry; we will get to the bottom of this. Let's watch now," Hermione finished.

After Tom had finished his story about his early childhood, both he and Loraine raised their heads and their eyes connected. They just stared for a moment, Loraine becoming redder and redder, and Tom becoming more and more nervous. "I hope you won't take this the wrong way, but you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," Tom managed to stutter out. "You really know how to embarrass a girl don't you?" Loraine said and gave him a playful little sock in the arm. "Since we both have free periods right now, would you like to go for a walk outside?" Tom asked. "Sure," said Loraine, and they locked arms and took a stroll outside.

It was a wonderful day outside, and the sky was crystal blue and the sun was gingerly beating down on the school. They walked in a blissful silence for a while, and then Tom stopped by a marble bench. Surrounding the bench was beautiful blue and pink flowers. Tom sat down, and Loraine followed his example and did the same. "I know we hardly know each other, but I was wondering…" Tom said but then stopped. "Yes, what is it?" Loraine eagerly asked. Tom's heart was pounding, anybody could tell. He grabbed Loraine's hands and stroked them gently. "Loraine… will… you…uh… willyougooutwithme?" Tom asked as fast as he could. "Huh? What, I didn't catch that last part. I got 'Loraine will you uh' but I couldn't make out the rest. Could you repeat it?" Loraine asked with a devious little grin on her face. This seemed to give Tom extra courage seeing Loraine's essentially scheming side come out. "Will you go out with me?" "Yes," replied Loraine without any thought or hesitation. Suddenly an evil type grin emerged from Tom's face, and Loraine tightly embraced him.

"Hey, that face Tom just made, I've seen it before!" exclaimed Harry. "Where?" asked Hermione. "In other memories, when Tom wanted something, like say for instance a Dark object, he made that face." "Maybe that's just his happy face," said Ron smartly. "Maybe," Harry concurred. "But it's odd, what does this Loraine girl see in _him_? And yes, I know I know, 'love potion'. But she's using one on him too!" Ron exclaimed. "This truly is an enigma, isn't it?" said Hermione.

Suddenly all around them things became a blur. "This is a cut up or censored memory. Usually people censor things out, or they just can't remember, like Professor Slughorn's memory about Horcruxes," Harry explained. They looked around and they realized they were in a school corridor. Loraine, Tammy, and Nicole were walking to a class together, discussing Loraine's love life.

"So he asked you out," said Tammy matter-of-factly, "Big surprise." "I can't believe you said yes!" exclaimed Nicole. "Do you even know what kind of rumors are going to emerge?" "I don't, and I don't care," said Loraine, "Let people think what they want." "Just be careful, that's all," said Tammy. "Yeah, we worry about you, that's all," said Nicole. "Thanks, I appreciate your concern, but I'm perfectly safe. He's a perfectly capable wizard and he can take care of me," said Loraine. "It's not other people hurting you we are worried about. It's _him_ we're worried about," said Nicole. Loraine, rolling her eyes, said, "I'm perfectly safe with him! Okay. So don't worry your pretty little heads about it."

As the memory took time to fast forward through a cut out part again, the trio took some time to discuss what just happened. "So her friend's were concerned about her safety with him. Maybe they realized what a bad person he is," said Ron." "Well, he didn't have a good reputation, and maybe they heard other bad things about him. I guarantee Tom had some enemies. And plus he's from the Slytherin, no wonder they don't trust him. And they probably suspect a love potion at work," said Hermione. "And her friend's don't know she's a love potion culprit too," said Ron. "Well, this conversation with her friends was obviously important to her if she was able to remember it. It's probably significant, so let's just remember what we heard and continue on watching the memory," Harry said. "Harry, if you don't mind, can I point something out?" asked Hermione, almost frightened. "Sure Hermione, what is it?" responded Harry. "Loraine and your mother, don't they seem to resemble each other? I mean, not the hair, but the facial features." "That is kind of odd, isn't it?" said Ron. "Yeah, you're right, what an odd coincidence," Harry said, somewhat taken aback. Then the memory continued.

Walking down a school corridor were Tom and Loraine, holding hands. People stared for it was the oddest match they could imagine. Loraine just laughed, and every time Tom heard Loraine laugh, it made his heart jump just a little. When there were not so many people around, he gazed into Loraine's eyes and kissed her. She giggled a bit, unable to speak, and she was all smiles. Her back was up against the stony wall, but she was leaning into Tom. This time she kissed him, and Tom wasn't expecting a second kiss so he stumbled backwards. Laughing, Loraine grabbed his hands so he wouldn't fall. "What, were you expecting me to slap you or something? Ha ha ha," laughed Loraine. This time, however, Tom laughed, a full and real laugh, the first anyone has heard. Loraine reached into her pocket and pulled out a chocolate cauldron, more than likely laced with love potion. "Here," and she gave it to Tom. He ate it, and he pulled out a stick of love potion laced gum. "Would you like a stick?" he asked. She took one and promptly put it into her mouth and began to chew. Then the memory started to fast-forward through a cut out part again.

"That must have been their first kiss," exclaimed Hermione, "It's hard to remember that Tom is this evil mastermind; it's as if he has a human side after all." "This must have been important to her to add it to the memory," said Harry. "Well of course, anybody's first kiss would be important," said Hermione. "No, not the kiss, but Tom's laugh. That must have been the first time she had heard him laugh. And personally, I didn't think he had it in him. I mean, a non-sinister, non-evil laugh that is. I'm sure he's plenty good at the evil variety." Ron was laughing, "It is kind of funny how they keep poisoning each other with love potion continually while the other is non the wiser." The other two chuckled at this absurd thought. The memory had started again, and suddenly they were not at Hogwarts anymore.

Loraine was sitting alone in a room of a small apartment with a small fire blazing in the stony fireplace. The doorbell rang, and she got up to answer it. She opened the door and the extremely handsome Tom was standing there, covered in a light layer of snow, holding a box of love potion laced chocolates. "Hi! Thanks for coming to visit me, on Christmas even!" Loraine cheered as she threw herself around Tom. Tom smiled and said, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else!" Harry could hear Ron gagging out of disgust for this mushy moment. "Come in, come in, it's freezing out there," Loraine said. Tom came in and took off his overcoat and put the box of chocolates on the tiny, wooden table in the living room. He sat down by the fireplace, and Loraine soon joined him after she came back from hanging up Tom's jacket.

"So whose apartment is this exactly?" Tom asked. "Mine, I'm renting it from some Muggles. I had to use a fake ID of course, and I can hardly afford it, but my father's friend would gladly send money to put me up here than return to him for the holidays," as Loraine said that, she ripped open the chocolates and had already eaten three. "Can I get you some hot chocolate?" she asked. "Yes, please," replied Tom.

She returned from the kitchen with one cup of love potion laced hot chocolate and handed it to Tom. "Thanks. Didn't you want any?" he asked, this time somewhat suspiciously. "Oh no, I drank a whole bunch before you came, and plus those chocolates you gave me were very rich," she replied. "And that's why you at three already?" Tom asked playfully. "Well…" said Loraine with an innocent look on her face. The couple left it at that, and Tom drained the hot chocolate.

"Oh my goodness!" exclaimed Hermione at this moment. "What, what is it?" asked Harry, rather nervous at Hermione's sudden outburst. "Harry, this could be bad! Loraine at three love potion filled chocolates and Tom had a whole cup of love potion! This could spell disaster," said Hermione, terrified at about what they were going to witness.

After a long moment of silence of the two cuddled by the fire, Tom said, "Thanks for inviting me and Happy Christmas!" As he said this, he shuffled for something in his pocket. Tom cleared his throat, and Loraine could tell he was nervous. She gave him an adoring smile and sat there in silence. "Uhm… Loraine. I know we've only been together for 4 months, but I can't stop thinking about you. Every waking moment, and non-waking too, it's you who I think about. This has been an extreme blessing, who know what I'd have been thinking about instead." Harry heard Hermione mutter, "Yeah... WHO knows what it could have been?" "Loraine, you're the girl of my dreams, and it doesn't have to be right away, but will you marry me?" Tom finished saying, shaking as his nerves got the best of him.

"You mustn't be so nervous with me all the time!" Loraine said with a grin. "You must stand your ground, be forceful when you do something," she said with a teasing giggle. By this time Tom's face was completely pale. Then Loraine held his hands and answered the question addressed to her in an excited voice, "Of course!" Tom took the ring out of his pocket with an air of confidence and placed it on her slender left ring finger. "Oh Tom, it's beautiful," exclaimed Loraine as she examined the majestically cut, pure white diamond.

"Marriage? How old are they? And like I said, this Loraine girl has completely lost her marbles!" said Ron. "She never questioned him as to where he got the ring," observed Hermione. "You're right. Wasn't he supposedly poor? He could not have been able to afford a ring like that," replied Ron. "It was stolen," said Harry, pointing out the obvious. "So he was still not a good person, even when in love," Hermione added. "It appears so," Harry concurred.

After the proposal, a lot of kissing ensued. The memory started to become blotchy at a certain point, and then it faded entirely for a bit. Once the memory resumed, however, Tom and Loraine were fast asleep in each other's arms. Suddenly, the memory fast-forwarded, again.

"This memory is very cut up," remarked Ron. "That it may be, but we were lucky that some things were cut out!" said Hermione. "Sh! The memory's starting," Harry said.

They were in the Gryffindor girls' dormitory. Tammy, Nicole, and Loraine were all sitting together on a bed. It was fairly empty in the dorm, most everybody were relaxing in the common room. "Girls, I got to tell you a secret. You have to swear on your lives that you won't tell _anybody_," Loraine said tearfully. "We're here for you. You can tell us anything," said Tammy compassionately. Loraine held both of their hands and started bawling. Nicole put an arm around Loraine and said, "Aw come on, it can't be _that_ terrible." Loraine whispered, "I'm pregnant."

Silence enveloped the three girls, and the three onlookers. "_See, _this is the terrible thing that I saw happening. This is what happens when you use too much love potion, and two people are using it on each other. And the scary thing is, on a love potion over-dose, the people affected can't remember anything happening," whispered Hermione. "Wow, that love potion stuff is serious business," said Ron.

Nicole and Tammy hugged Loraine and started crying. "Loraine, oh Loraine, you just barely turned 16! You poor thing," sobbed Tammy. "How did it happen? Well, I know how _it_ happens, but, you know, what happened?" Nicole said through sniffs. "Things between me and Tom must have got out of hand during Christmas break last month," said Loraine. "What do you mean 'must have'?" asked Tammy. "Well you see, he asked me to marry him…" started Loraine. "What?" exclaimed both girls. "Yeah, and after that it gets hazy," muttered Loraine. "Does he know?" asked Nicole. "No, and I intend to keep it that way." "This is between us," said Nicole. "…And we won't tell _anybody_."

With that, the memory blurred and fast-forwarded, yet again. "Not with this fast forward bit again," sighed Ron. "How long is this memory, anyway?" he said, continuing his complaints. "I'm sure it's not much longer," said Hermione. "Tom Riddle had a child!" exclaimed Harry, seemingly the only one to fully grasp the situation of the newly discovered information. "It would appear so," Ron said bluntly. "Did that child survive, was it ever born, _who_ did it become?" Harry questioned, becoming overwhelmed with his thoughts. "This just brings up a million more questions," Harry said in a frustrated voice. "Maybe that's why Dumbledore didn't show you, or anybody else for that matter. He didn't want to stress and confuse everyone on the face of this planet. I'm sure it troubled him, too," Hermione said, trying to calm Harry down. "I take it nobody else knows this, huh?" Harry said, directing his question at Hermione, hoping that she possibly read about this somewhere. "I'm sure of it Harry! It would be everywhere if He-who-must-not-be-named had a child!" Hermione responded.

"Talk about being the most hated kid in school. With a father like that, everybody would hate you," Ron said, trying to get a laugh at this very stressful moment. "Brilliant Ron! I know you were just kidding, but that's a good point! If indeed this child were born, I'm sure it never knew whom its father was. And possibly people tried to shield this child away from him, and probably the Wizarding community altogether!" Hermione exclaimed. "Hum… we'll keep that in mind. The memory is starting up again," Harry said.

They were in the hospital wing of the school, and a critically ill Loraine was lying in one of the beds, barely conscious. A nurse and a few unfamiliar faces surrounded her, but there was one familiar face: Dumbledore. Headmaster Dippet was there also. "What happened to her," he calmly asked the nurse.

"Something awful happened, she was attacked by a menacing creature. I'm not quite sure what it was, but it seems to me like a dark curse of some sort has been placed upon her. The most likely cause was a creature from the Forbidden Forest attacked her," replied the nurse shakily. "Can anything be done?" questioned the headmaster. "I'm afraid not, she's…" the nurse almost broke into sobs, "…she's… she's…" The nurse was unable to continue. The headmaster put an arm around the nurse and said, "It's okay, it's okay…" "It's not just that, sir. She's pregnant!" sniffed the nurse. "Oh my, pregnant? Are you sure?" This time it was Dumbledore who spoke. "Yes, I'm completely sure. She's about 6 months," responded the nurse. "How did this happen! And on our campus! This is preposterous!" raged the headmaster. "Have compassion, the girl is on her death bed," said Dumbledore solemnly. Then Dumbledore turned to the nurse, "Does the father know?" "She told me, while she was still able to talk continuously, that the father did not know," the nurse said.

"Is there anyway to save the baby," asked Dumbledore. "Yes, in fact there is. The curse was laid upon the girl, and not the child. It might be safe," replied the nurse. "Save the baby and put it up for adoption, and try to keep this low profile if you can. I don't want word to get out that our school is filled with delinquents, and that we have no control over potentially deadly creatures roaming our campus," ordered the headmaster. "Does she have any family to be notified?" the headmaster asked. "None, both her parents are out of her life, and she has no siblings," the nurse answered. "Good, this will be rather easy to keep from the public spot light. Don't let the student's know what happened either. Actually, I would like a very powerful memory charm placed on all the students and staff, except, of course, everybody present. We can't have this blown out of proportion, or remembered for that matter. What would become of Hogwarts then?" And with that, the headmaster and the others departed, leaving the nurse and Dumbledore alone with Loraine.

"That man has a hard heart," the nurse groaned. "Why isn't he compassionate?" The nurse started to cry, thinking about poor Loraine's fate. Dumbledore hugged her and tried to sooth her, "Don't worry, when I become headmaster, I promise I'll have compassion for my students, and not care about my reputation." Suddenly, the doors slammed open and bursting through them came Tom Riddle.

"Loraine!" he screamed and ran to her bedside. "Loraine," he started to cry. Loraine mustered up all her strength and with a raspy whisper said, "Take my ring… I love you." And with that she started to go into death convulsions. The nurse pushed Tom out of the way and succeeded in calming the convulsions.

Tom, losing control of himself just screamed at the wall, "You let this happen to her! No security! You let her be killed! AHHHH!" And with the most hate filled face that the trio had seen, Tom ran out the doors. Thus his evil fate was to be sealed forever in his hate for what happened, and his hunger for absolute power.

The nurse spoke gently to Loraine, "Loraine, I need your memory of what happened to you. Do you think you can recount it?" With a cough, Loraine said, "Yes, parts." Dumbledore walked over and was able to abstract the memory. With that the memory ended, and Ron, Harry, and Hermione were thrown out of the Pensieve.

"We have to find out what happened to that baby!" exclaimed Harry. The three of them, overwhelmed with utter confusion at what they just heard, ravaged through Dumbledore's old office, hoping beyond all hope to find something, anything…

"Harry, Ron, come quick, I've found some old paper's in the desk," Hermione said. "It looks like part of an old journal Dumbledore kept. Only a few pages are here and they say something significant. It's almost like Dumbledore left all these thing for us to find," Hermione said. "Let me read it," said Harry. "Before you do Harry, remember to be strong and don't be afraid at what you may find," said Hermione cautiously.

Harry looked at the papers; there wasn't much written on them. It talked about Loraine.

_The poor girl named Loraine died today, and all memory of her has been erased from the minds of everybody here, except a few others and myself. The baby was saved. The baby's father is Tom Riddle, but I've decided it was best he did not know, for I do not completely trust Riddle. I fear that the death of his 'fiancée' may have ill effect on Riddle's behavior. He's already seemed to have grown darker, which is a bad sign, although the memory of the girl Loraine is no longer in his mind. As for the poor little baby, it was sent off to a Muggle orphanage, and by stroke of luck, was adopted the very day she was received. A Muggle couple with the last name 'Evans' adopted her, and they christened their new daughter 'Lily'. I do hope for the best of this child, and I will do my best to make sure she does not ever find out about her orphan past. _

Harry's heart felt like it was taking a one hundred story dive. Ron eagerly asked Harry what the paper had said, because Harry's face was a sickly pale white. Unable to speak, Hermione answered for him. "He-who-must-not-be-named is Harry's grandfather."

Ron was speechless and unable to movie. Harry looked as if he stopped breathing. Hermione was the only one to think at a dramatic moment like this.

"Harry, it makes sense. You speak in Parsletounge, and so does _he. _Your wand is made from a phoenix feather, and so is _his. _You both even look slightly alike," said Hermione.

Harry seemed to come out of his paralyzed state, and answered Hermione. "I asked Dumbledore about those things in our second year, during the Chamber of Secrets fiasco. He told me that when Voldemort attacked me, he transferred some of his powers to me," Harry said, trying to find a loophole. "No Harry, he must have told you that because he felt you were way too young to know the truth," Hermione answered back. "That's why he didn't want to kill my mum… he didn't know she was his daughter… but somehow he knew. He was going to let my mum live you know. How could Dumbledore keep this a secret from me?" asked Harry, with a hint of anger in his voice.

"I'm sure he was only trying to protect you, Harry, don't be angry with him," said Hermione, "And now we have a clue about another Horcrux. That diamond ring!"

"You're right, but will you guys still fight with me, knowing what you know now?" asked Harry.

"Of course we will Harry! You're our best friend! You're our only hope to defeat he-who-must-not-be-named! You are still Harry Potter no matter what," said Ron, his first words since finding out this shocking news. "Yes Harry, we're here for you forever!" seconded Hermione.

"Thank you," said Harry. And now the true mystery and adventure begins…


End file.
